It’s important to think hard about your bottom line when you’re in business. You won’t be profitable or stay in business very long without keeping track of your expenses and revenues. It’s also true that fixating on your costs and cutting too many corners can create expensive mistakes.  This issue is about ensuring your shop’s [...]

The 2022 Southwest Regional Workshop held at SugarHouse Industries in Salt Lake City, Utah, (left) and the MFA Southeast Regional Workshop held at Canvas Designers Inc., in Riviera Beach, Fla., (right) provided networking opportunities, classroom sessions and hands-on education. Registration is now open for the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) Northwest Regional Workshop being held Sept. [...]

The Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) provides resources and programs for marine fabricators and establishes standards of excellence for business practices, products and craftsmanship. The MFA is a division of the Advanced Textiles Association, formerly known as IFAI. Join the only trade association today that represents the entire specialty fabrics and advanced textiles industry in the [...]

All calendar events are subject to change. Please check websites for updated information. Sept. 22–23, 2023 MFA Pacific Northwest Regional WorkshopOyster Creek CanvasBellingham, Wash.textiles.org/marineworkshops Nov. 1–3, 2023 ATA Expo 2023Orange County Convention CenterOrlando, Fla.advancedtextilesexpo.com Nov. 17–18, 2023 MFA Great Lakes WorkshopChicago Marine CanvasChicago, Ill.textiles.org/marineworkshops Jan. 25–27, 2024 MFA Conference 2024Tradewinds ResortSt. Pete Beach, Fla.textiles.org/marineconference

This craft has acrylic windows, one of the most popular material choices. But for many boat owners, the decision is not always easy because each choice has pros and cons. Photo: Chicago Marine Canvas Selecting boat windows for customers might be the hardest thing a fabricator can do—or the easiest. Most customers have two primary [...]

Expertise plays an important role in a successful marine business. However, a fabricator might be highly skilled, with lines of customers and a backlog of projects, and that’s still no assurance the business will remain viable in the long run. If pricing is at odds with costs, the effect on the bottom line could be [...]

For this feature, we asked our contributors to send us information about their high-performing products. The product information was submitted by the participating manufacturers and suppliers by the established deadline. The products are organized into three categories: Fabric, Film & Foam; Equipment, Tools & Miscellaneous; and Hardware & Findings. You can see the 2023 Premier [...]

Center console boats are a popular style of boat in Yorktown, Va. The author believes that center console enclosures are some of the most complicated enclosures to design, and also among the most rewarding. Center console boats are a popular style of boat in my area, Yorktown, Va., along with sportfish, cruisers, trawlers and sailboats. [...]

Selecting breathable, woven, acrylic fabrics helps keep the boat dry and allows for ventilation. This is especially useful with a dark-colored fabric. There are many suppliers of fabrics in the marine industry. Upon researching just one of our suppliers, I discovered more than 4,000 fabrics, spanning 11 application categories, and each fabric was uniquely created [...]

When most of us hear the word “OSHA,” we instantly conjure up images of ticket-writing cops invading our workplace. And these aren’t the $35 tags that grace our windshield when we linger in a parking spot too long. These citations can easily hit the four- or five-digit mark depending on the severity of the violation. [...]